Artificially ionized region as a source of ozone in the stratosphere

Physical and chemical processes occurring in a microwave stratospheric disc harge of nanosecond duration are discussed in connection with the effect th ey may have locally on the ozone layer in the artificially ionized region ( AIR) in the stratosphere. The AIR to be created at altitudes of 18 - 20 km by the microwave breakdown of air by high-power, ground-produced electromag netic radiation beams, is planned to be used in the framework of a physical field experiment aimed at probing ozone layer properties (position and pla sma-chemical and photo-chemical processes) by controllably generating a con siderable amount of ozone. Results of relevant theoretical studies are pres ented, as are those of a large series of laboratory experiments performed u nder conditions similar to those prevailing in the stratosphere. Discharge regimes securing the efficient growth of ozone density are identified and s tudied in detail. It is shown that such an stratospheric ozonizer is about as efficient as the best ozonizers available down on earth. For typical str atospheric conditions (low pressures and temperatures T similar to 200 - 22 0 K), it is shown that the intense production of ozone in a pulse microwave breakdown does not virtually increase the density of nitrogen oxides - gas es that play a central role in catalytic ozone-destructing reactions. The p ossibility of effectively producing ozone in sub-breakdown electric fields is demonstrated experimentally. It is shown that due to its long lifetime, ozone produced locally at altitudes of 18-20 km may spread widely under the action of winds and turbulent diffusion, thus leading to an additional - a rtificial - ozonization of the stratosphere.